March 28, 2008

Obituaries

Please submit in writing to our office by 10 a.m. Thursday before the week of publication; be sure to state date of death. Obituaries of archdiocesan priests serving our archdiocese are listed elsewhere in The Criterion. Order priests and religious sisters and brothers are included here, unless they are natives of the archdiocese or have other connections to it; those are separate obituaries on this page.

CLAYPOOL, Edward L., 91, St. Luke the Evangelist, Indianapolis, March 7. Husband of Genevieve Claypool. Father of Elizabeth Koschnick, John and Joseph Claypool. Grandfather of nine. Great-grandfather of nine.

Joseph Huber Jr. helped Catholic ministries in southern Indiana

Joseph H. Huber Jr., a Catholic philanthropist in southern Indiana and lifelong member of St. John the Baptist Parish in Starlight, died on March 10 after a brief struggle with leukemia. He was 74.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 14 at St. John the Baptist Church in Starlight. Burial followed at the parish cemetery.

A native of Starlight, Huber was born on March 20, 1933. He was married to Bonnie C. (Kruer) Huber for 53 years.

Huber was a well-known fruit and vegetable grower and restaurant owner in southern Indiana.

He started the first “you-pick” farm in the Midwest in 1967 in Starlight, and opened the Joe Huber Family Farm and Restaurant there in 1983.

The restaurant, community center, animals, pony rides, hayrides and other attractions brought millions of people to his family’s 260-acre farm during the past three decades.

Huber was president of the Indiana Vegetable Growers Association for 17 years, and was a former director of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, the Harrison County R.E.M.C. and National City Bank.

He received an honorary agricultural degree from Purdue University.

In 2005, Joe and Bonnie Huber received the prestigious St. John Bosco Award from Catholic Youth Ministries in southern Indiana for their lifetime of distinguished service to benefit young people.

Lucas said “Joe was a great believer in giving back through philanthropy, and he shared much of his resources and time” with a variety of charitable causes. (See related story on page 4.)

“The impact of Mr. Huber’s generosity to the Catholic Church and the New Albany community is widespread and has touched countless persons,” said Joseph Therber, executive director of Stewardship and Development for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

“He has made a tremendous difference,” Therber said, “and will continue to do so as his legacy lives on through his family and friends.”